The Witness
What appear to be top-secret Russian documents are captured in a village in Syria. Lieutenant David Parker is convinced their disclosure will determine the future of the President’s Mideast peace initiative and his hopes for re-election. Parker’s commanding officer also realizes what the documents represent and decides that they must never be made public.
Parker is convinced that the content of the documents must be disclosed, regardless of the consequences to himself, and arranges to testify before to the House Armed Services Committee. Before he can testify, Parker mysteriously disappears and Lucius White and his investigator, Horse McGee, embark on a quest to locate him and the documents.
Their search is opposed by forces ranging from government security agencies to a mysterious array of individuals aligned with Congressman Bartlett Castle, who will do anything to prevent disclosure of the content of the documents.
The apparent murder of Parker, an attempt to murder White and McGee, continue to raise the stakes in a race to disclose the content of the documents before it is too late.
SAMPLE CHAPTER
Lieutenant David Parker shivered in the wind that swept through the high Syrian mountain pass. A billion stars glittered like a field of quartz crystals against the onyx desert sky. Only the muffled hum of the camp generator disturbed the silence. Parker took a final drag on his cigarette before crushing it in the sand and heading for the command bunker and the stack of captured documents.
The Russian text in the documents was indecipherable to him, but he knew enough to recognize the Russian words for top secret. What interested him were the Arabic notations on the documents. He was fluent in Arabic — that’s why he was at this godforsaken outpost — and he was positive that the notations were intended for someone high in the ranks of the Syrian military or local militia. That could not have been anyone who was at the remote village they had raided. No one of any importance would have been at such an insignificant location. But the notations had to have been made by someone with access to plans being made at the highest level. The locked satchel in which the documents had been found suggested a courier was transporting them to one of the larger enemy command centers in the region.
Parker entered the bunker and spotted the senior officer he had been waiting for. He was hard to miss. Major Bishop stood out from the rest of troops in the bunker like a tuba in a string quartet. Everyone else was in desert fatigues, grimy and smelling of five days in the stifling desert heat, but Bishop was in uniform.
Bishop’s presence alone confirmed Parker’s belief that they had a significant find. As a senior intelligence officer, Bishop was required to examine documents as soon as possible after they were captured, but he usually waited until they had been delivered to headquarters. Visits to front-line units were rare, but this was one of few units with an embedded intelligence officer.
Bishop had shown his distaste for Parker’s role ever since they first met. Parker’s expertise was interpreting the political implications of information, but Bishop was only interested in its immediate military significance. Parker knew that this difference in their responsibilities was enough to make Bishop hesitant to pay attention to his theories — and to resent being called to the desolate outpost where Parker plied his trade.
Parker approached the major and saluted. “Good evening, Sir.”
Bishop returned the salute but didn’t immediately speak. The scowl on his face said all that Parker needed to know. Getting Bishop to agree with his conclusion about the documents was not going to be easy. They had argued over Parker’s interpretation of intelligence data in the past, and Bishop rarely agreed with Parker’s point of view.
Slowly, and with apparent reluctance, Bishop turned his attention to Parker. “What have you got this time, Lieutenant?” Bishop did not make any effort to conceal the disdain in his voice.
Parker took a thin file from the locked drawer of his makeshift desk and handed it to Bishop. An occasional grunt was the only indication that he was actually paying attention to what he was reading. When he finally got to Parker’s notes, his eyes narrowed and he turned away as if he didn’t want Parker to see his response. Finally, he put the file back on the desk and faced Parker.
“Sir,” Parker said, “this seems to be just what the radio chatter has been talking about. I think we’ve found what we’ve been looking for.”
“What you’ve been looking for,” Bishop said. “We’ve been through this before. Not every document that gets intercepted is the holy grail.”
“But, sir, this isn’t like the material we captured before. The President’s plans for a peace agreement for the Mideast could be determined by what’s in these documents. They’re plans for Russia’s response if the President’s peace initiative is successful.”
“That’s your opinion. They could mean anything.”
“Major, I know these documents are important.”
“Well, I’m not going to the colonel with one of your ridiculous hunches, and that’s all there is to it.”
“Sir. With all due respect —”
“That’s enough, Parker! I’ll decide what gets sent up the line, and you aren’t going to clog the system with your bullshit theories.”
The major stuffed the documents and Parker’s notes into a ragged satchel that passed for a briefcase and headed for his jeep.
“I haven’t finished analyzing those documents,” Parker said.
The major turned and glared at him with cold eyes and a look of general intolerance. “I’ll decide what to do with these documents. As far as you’re concerned, they never existed.”
For a long moment, Parker did nothing as he considered his options. This wasn’t the first time he and Bishop had clashed over the importance of captured documents. Parker understood that the intelligence needs of combat units were different from the requirements of political leaders and policymakers, but he had his own job to do. The fact that he was just a Reserve officer only made Bishop more distrustful of Parker’s conclusions. But until his unit returned to its base, Parker was obliged to follow the chain of command. The major’s mind was made up. The documents, and Parker’s analysis, weren’t going anywhere, and any further argument would be close to insubordination.
In his gut, Parker knew that something wasn’t right. The major was adamantly opposed to what should have been a priority transmission. The Russian-language reference to “top secret” demanded that it be treated that way regardless of the substance of the documents. Parker was convinced Bishop had a specific reason for not letting him complete his analysis, but he couldn’t imagine what it was.
Reluctantly, Parker said, “Yes, sir!” and gave Bishop an unnecessary salute. It wasn’t the gesture he wanted to make, but it was close.
The unit’s sergeant waited until Bishop had moved to the other side of the command center before muttering, “Don’t let Bishop get you down, sir. He’s a fucking moron.”
Parker chuckled quietly. Long’s statement wasn’t the kind of language usually used by a sergeant when referring to an officer, but Parker had a special relationship with his sergeant. “That’s Major fucking moron to you, Sergeant Long.”
“Yes, sir,” Long said as he strained to suppress a grin. “But that doesn’t change the facts. He doesn’t know what we have here.”
“Don’t be so sure, Sergeant.”
Long raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Parker slumped back in a tattered canvas chair beside the Sargent’s table. “When was the last time the major was so adamant about not sending intelligence findings up the line?”
Long pursed his lips. “I see what you mean. But why’s he so bent out of shape this time?”
“Bishop’s no fool. I think he knows the significance of what we’ve found.”
“Then why won’t he send your analysis to the old man?”
“Because there are too many people who don’t want to know about what I think we’ve found.”
Long gave Parker a puzzled look.
“This place is a political quagmire. All grades of hell would break loose if what I think we found got out.”
“Why should any of that make a difference to Bishop?”
“I don’t know,” Parker muttered as he massaged the back of his neck. “But Bishop is career Army, and his brother-in-law is on the House Armed Services Committee.”
“I don’t get the connection.”
“I don’t know if there is one, Sergeant. But I’m not a big believer in coincidences. It could be nothing, But if my hunch about those documents is right, they could have serious political consequences.”
“And you think the major came up here to check the documents out before anyone else saw them?”
Parker nodded absently as he thought about his exchange with Bishop. “That’s how it looks to me.”
“But even if you’re right, why should your analysis mean anything to the major?”
Parker scratched at the stubble on his chin and watched as Bishop climbed into his jeep. “It shouldn’t. I do political analysis, and everyone in the service is supposed to be politically neutral. But everyone on active duty has an interest in the decisions the Armed Services Committee makes.”
“Do you think the Major is going to tell his brother-in-law what you’ve found.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the only one Bishop tell what we’ve found.”
“But –“
“Bishop is a weasel. He’ll do what’s in his own best interests.”
Long nodded. “So, what are you9 going to do now?”
“I don’t know. But I’m glad we scanned the documents before Bishop took them. I’m going find some way to finish analyzing them.”
“What should I do with the scans?”
Parker wrote something on a sheet of paper and handed it to the sergeant. “Send the files to this e-mail address.”
“But, sir,” Long said, “aren’t they classified or something?”
“You heard Bishop. As far as we’re concerned, the documents never existed, so how could they be classified? Besides, you’ll be sending them to one of the most secure intelligence facilities in America.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, why am I sending the scans here?”
“That’s my secure address at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories. When I’m not in this hellhole, I’m head of cybersecurity for a unit that analyzes foreign intelligence. I’m due to rotate back there in a week, and I can finish my analysis then.”
Long shook his head. “I hope you know what you’re doing. You could really get torn a new one if anything goes wrong.”
“And that’s why I have to do something.”
Long cocked his head and gave Parker a quizzical look.
“Don’t worry about it, Sergeant. It’s a personal thing. I have some demons to exorcize.”